PORTLAND, Ore. – Beyonce Bea scored a career-high 40 points as the Idaho Vandals (12-16, 11-8) rallied to win their sixth straight game by topping Portland State (5-22, 0-19) 73-68 Wednesday Night.

Beyonce Bea could not be stopped, scoring a career-high 40 points on 16 of 22 shooting. She also grabbed seven rebounds and added an assist and a block to her impressive performance. Her 40 points tied for second all-time for most points scored in a game, the record is 41 held by Mikayla Ferenz. Bea's 16 made field goals is also second all-time, one shy of tying Denise Brose's mark of 17, set back in 1981.

Bea wasn't the only one scoring the basketball, Tiana Johnson was 7 of 13 for 16 points and nine rebounds. Sydney Gandy added 10 points and eight assists. Allison Kirby had a career-high 11 dimes and she added six rebounds.

The Vandals and Vikings met for the second time in three days. And Wednesday's game in Portland had a much different feel and pace to it than Monday's contest at ICCU Arena. Instead of a defensive slugfest that saw Idaho pull way in the fourth quarter to win 64-39. This time teams came out firing and couldn't miss. PSU shot 58 percent in the first while the Vandals were 53 percent from the field. The teams traded baskets for the first half with Portland State holding a 37-33 halftime advantage. Bea scored 26 points in the opening half.

Portland State started to pull away from the Vandals in the third, building a 12-point lead halfway through the quarter. The Vandals quickly answered closing the quarter on a 13-4 run to enter the fourth trailing by just three at 55-52. Bea scored the last eight Idaho points of the third.

The Vandals kept up the pace in the fourth, making 9 of 12 field goals retaking the lead with 6:18 remaining. PSU would not go away without a fight, trading baskets until a Gandy score with 2:50 left put the Vandals up for good.

For the game, the Vandals shot 54.7 percent from the field and PSU shot 46.7 percent. The Vandals had 26 assists on 29 made field goals. Their most in a game since recording 31 back in March of 2018, also against Portland State.
With the win, the Vandals move into a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference and a first-round bye in the Big Sky Tournament.

The Vandals will close out the regular season Friday, March 4 against Northern Arizona. Tip-off from Flagstaff, Ariz. Is set for 5 p.m. PT

Follow the Vandals all season long on Twitter and Instagram, @VandalsWBB fans can also listen over the airwaves with the Voice of the Vandals, Doug Taylor, on the Vandal Radio Network and  GoVandals.com/Listen.